Pippa Cuckson is the Telegraph's equestrian correspondent. A former deputy editor of Horse & Hound, she contributes to horse sport titles in Europe and the USA and writes about things unconnected with horses for Country Life

Zara Phillips’ Olympic selection elevated eventing to the front pages but this exposure is double-edged. Some say the decision to pick Zara is a piece of star-struck tokenism, or that she got the sympathy vote for missing out before. Other riders – under enough pressure to deliver at a home Games – will also now have to work with fevered press attention on their sport. I expect the selectors discussed these considerable down-sides. But sound sporting reasons for picking Zara have prevailed.

First, her horse High Kingdom has never been a poor substitute for previous ride Toytown. While Toytown was an instant star and won European and world titles (2005-2006) with Zara in her early twenties, High Kingdom was a slow-burn. Expert observers rated him during his educational years at remote green-field national competitions where only owners can be bothered to spectate. By then, Zara’s career seemed on the slide and mainstream attention diluted.

Secondly, High Kingdom was purpose-bred for eventing. Full-brother Mandiba was the backbone of the US team whose trainer, Zara’s father, heard about his useful-looking sibling and persuaded family friend Trevor Hemmings to buy – that’s why High Kingdom’s stable name is “Trev”.

Zara’s selection results from a seven-year labour of love. Trev went through a truculent stage and his 2010 record is best left unread. But Zara kept at it, teasing out the potential that breeder William Micklem spotted when the three-year-old kept jumping out of his field. And now she could teach the horse rather than have the horse teach her.

Third is the Greenwich factor, the steepest, twistiest cross-country ever and, through space constraints, maybe 1,000 metres shorter than the norm.

All this plays to defending champions, Germany. Their forensic style is tailor-made for Greenwich. Germans are also hot on show jumping so the only place to keep up is in dressage.

The chosen British horses are all solid scorers and quick-witted, nippy jumpers, capable of making up time between fences and assessing problems off a blind bend. This is why William Fox-Pitt is riding relative newcomer Lionheart, not Burghley / Kentucky winner Parklane Hawk. Four-star form was never a decider. Five of the six horses have prepared solely in “short” competitions this spring, a choice not forced solely by the loss of Badminton.

After Toytown retired, Zara was quietly dropped from the world class squad, in danger of the label “one-horse wonder.” Not any more.